The US Forest Service is responsible for protecting the nation against natural disasters such as wildfires, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Naturally, time is of the essence during these critical periods where fires can spread rapidly throughout acres of land. With the status constantly changing, it was clear that a digital mapping solution was needed to provide up-to-date situational awareness to the hundreds of fire fighters at risk in a moments notice. The US Forest Service is taking advantage of apps to increase response time during natural disasters as well as eliminating time delays with the help of Avenza’s PDF Maps app – interested in how they’re implementing it?

“Paper map packets used to be essential, and aside from ripping and tearing in a physical environment, the biggest issue was that we were never able to update them and notify the team on the changing status of a fire or other disaster,” Situational Unit Leader and Fire Engine Captain, Chris Brenzel stated. “The beauty of accessing maps through the PDF Maps app is that my team and I can view the maps on our iPhones or iPads anytime and anywhere immediately, even if we’re in different locations with no reception.”